Slow and Hot Starts so far

Not all the teams played the same amount of games. But after 12 games looking at this NHL season so far it is crazy. Who would of thought going into Halloween that Anze Kopitar would be first in goals. 12 games 10 Goals and 21 points. He only had 60 something last year. And is well on his way of setting new career highs in everything. The kings offense is on fire right now along with the Rangers, Sharks, Oilers, Flames, Capitals, Avalanche and Stars. Like who the hell thought most of the teams would be offensive juggernauts right now with the exception of the Sharks and Capitals. Here is some slow starts and guys that are hot out the gate and an analysis. I didn't put the top players on the Hot Start List.

Slow Starts
Oli Jokinen (CGY) - Get rid of him as fast as you can. Last year 57 points. This year 5 points in the Flames 10 offensively productive games so far. This is now the trend with Jokinen. He is in the coaches dog house and not on the the top two lines. Trade him for anything you can get from another owner. Drop him for a younger forward on the top lines that is actually producing and getting goals. Jokinen is 30 gonna be 31 in December. But he is DONE!

Bobby Ryan (ANA) - This kid has the talent and skills. But it is not showing up on the box score right now. He has 2 goals and 2 assists. The 1 goal and assist came the other night. The ducks stink right now they lost 6-3 to the Maple Leafs which is emberassing. When the ducks turn it around so will Ryan. Do not give up on him so soon.

Bryan Little (ATL) - After a 31 goal season. He has 0 so far after 8 games along with 5 assists. The alarming number here is just the 12 shots in those 8 games. With Kovalchuk hurt, he should get top time. Now is his chance to start scoring, the Thrashers will be depending on it. If you trade him do not trade him cheap. He does have value as he is still getting points even without scoring goals right now.

Marc-Edouard Vlasic (SAN) - A semi-breakout season last year with 36 points. Only has 3 points after 12 games right now. Strange considering all the goals the Sharks are scoring. Ehrhoff was traded and you think Vlasic would of picked up more slack. Instead him and Rob Blake have somehow became putrid. I would not be playing Vlasic in my lineup. Only on the bench. If he does no signs of coming out of this slump, look to trade or drop him for a better guy.

Christopher Higgins (NYR) - A former 27 goal scorer and main player in the Gomez trade. Has yet to light the lamp for his new team. The Rangers have been producing offensively and Higgins only has 2 assists in 12 games. He is shooting the puck averaging almost 2 a game. But not a single goal yet. As of right now he has no fantasy value what so ever. He should not be on your team even in the deepest of leagues. You will get nothing for him in a trade. Would you want him if you were another owner?

Pekka Rinne (NAS) - After such a great season last year in his 1st year. He has really been lousy in his sophmore season. He is on a team that struggles to score goals on a nightly basis. But his GAA and SAVE % right now are so off from last years. It is early and so far Brodeur and Loungo rebounded. It is early still so don;t give up him already. If this continues he will kill your goalie stats. You need to think about finding a reliable goalie to put in untill he snaps out of it.

Steve Mason (CLB) - Mr Rookie of The Year and Vezina nominee is off to a bad start also. Yes he does have a 5-3 record. But his GAA of 3.51 ranks him 38th out of 42 goalies. And 39th out of 42 in Save % with an 88.3% ! The BlueJackets play defensive minded hockey. So its a shock to see his stats nose dive. But the BlueJackets look like a half decent team. So I don't think this will keep up all year. He did look soild in a few games.

Niklas Lidstrom (DET) - Is it finally the end of an era for Lidstrom. I thought he was going to be good again this year. But so far 3 points in 10 games. Not Lidstrom like stats so far. The whole detroit team stinks so far. So do not panic yet and trade him. Give the Red Wings 2 more weeks to get it together. If not maybe its the end of the road for the great Lidstrom.

Great Starts
(Goalie Tri-Fecta) Craig Anderson, Ryan Miller, Ilya Bryzgalov - These 3 goalie have been off to a great start so far this season. Ryan Miller is the sole reason that buffalo wins games. he is 6-0-1 in 7 games this year. Bryz is the only reason the Coyotes are off to a great start. He shutout 2 high scoring teams in the Penguins and Sharks. And has been stellar except his last game. Craig Anderson has been worth every penny the Avalanche paid for him. His numbers are great for a team that was at the bottom last year. Out of all 3 of these guys Miller has the most value. Bryzgalov is the most likely to drop off in stats because there is now way the Coyotes keep playing good. Anderson was good on the sucky panthers last year. So I do not see him doing horrible even when the AVS hit a losing skid. Plus he just got another shut out against the Oilers who were scoring alot.

Kings (1st Line) - Kopitar, Williams and Smyth, wow what a start. All though of course Justin Williams had to get hurt right smack dab in the middle of it. Will this keep up. No, but enjoy it while it lasts. Kopitar is the true stud out of the three. Smyth is old and puts up good numbers nothing spectacular though. Just Williams is a walking band-aid. Kopitar should score close to 90 points this season. If you have Ryan Smyth I would trade him now, I don't think his value can get much higher than what it is now.

Mike DelZotto (NYR) - Wow is he amazing offensively, sorta Mike Green. In the aspect that he is not that good defensively. DelZotto logs alot of PP time. He was given the #1 PP QB reigns as a rookie. And so far hasn't let anyone down. He is first in points for D-Men as a rookie thats incredible. He is 2nd in goals with 4. Just picture what he can do if he gets more then 16 minutes a game. If he works on his defense. He can be a 22+ minute D-Man. I do see him hitting a little dry patch in the next couple weeks. And he will finish with more then a half a point a game average. Do not trade him unless the other owner is ripping himself off, the sky is the limit.

Oilers (1st Line) - Hemsky, Penner, Gagner have been pretty good since being united. Dustin Penner has 8 goals and 15 points already. Not bad considering he had 37 points all last year. Hemsky finally is starting to look like a bonafide assist guy that could score from time to time. And Sam Gagner is starting to look the player people thought he would be. My advice would be to keep them if you have them. The oilers look promising especially with MSP and Eberle coming over next year. This can be an offensive team like the Blackhawks for years to come.

Renee Bourque (CGY) - He has proven to be a reliable producer the last 2 years. But he does have that flag next to him for being Injury Prone. With 14 points in 10 games he has more then Iginla and Jokinen combined. He has not been known to get them PPG goals. So this is the perfect candidate to trade "HIGH". Either in a package or straight up to improve another spot on your team. If he keeps it up and doesn't get hurt I would be amazed.

Ales Kotalik (NYR) - He has 12 points in 12 games. With 5 of them being goals. But he only shot the puck 12 times. If he would only shoot the puck more heh. So far so good as he is on the top power play unit right now. He has been productive out there with Gaborik. But a long term injury to Gabby like what almost happened the other night. And say goodbye to Kotalik's numbers. At 30 years old, trade him now while his value is at its highest its ever been.

Daniel Sedin breaks foot

Daniel Sedin sustained the first major injury of his NHL career, suffering a broken foot in Wednesday's Vancouver Canucks' game against the Montreal Canadiens.

The 29-year-old Sedin, who plays on a line for the Canucks with his twin brother Henrik, is expected to be out four-to-six weeks with the injury.

Doctors put a cast on the foot which was fractured when he was struck by a shot from teammate Alex Edler. Sedin played the rest of the game with the broken foot.

Olaf Kolzig Retires: "Olie The Goalie"

Another very good hockey player we will no longer see. Olaf Kolzig AKA "Olie The Goalie" has announced his retirement today on Septmber 23rd, 2009. Kolzig who is 39. Was drafted in 1989 with the 19th overall pick. He appeared in games over 16 seasons for the Washington Capitals and finished his career up with Tampa Bay and Toronto last year. He played in 719 games since his first NHL game in 1989-90 and finished with a record of 303-297-63. He had 35 career shutouts and an overall 2.71 GGA.

He was the first South African-born player to be drafted to the NHL. He was born in Africa but both his parents were german and that is why he played for team Germany during the Olympics. He was the backbone of the Capitals for alot of years. And he to me will always stand out as one of the 5 best Capitals players in their franchise history. Maybe they will give him respect and retire his number there.

Kolzig, has mad many accomplishments among them. Kolzig helped Washington to the NHL finals in 1998 and two seasons later posted a 41-20-11 record with five shutouts and a 2.24 goals against average en route to an All-Star team berth and the Vezina Trophy. He appeared in 2 all star games in 1998 and 2000. Kolzig gave opposing teams problems on many nights. The capitals used to give up alot of shots and he was always there to answer the call. He had 2 seasons with high Save 91.9 and 91.7 percent. I hope this article gave Olie the Goalie his due.

NHL Band-Aid Boy List 2009-10

1. Marian Gaborik- Is the most talented on this list. But also the most risky. When he plays he puts up outstanding numbers. Now on the Rangers he can finally be free and play offense and become the force he was to be. But held back by the defensive coach Jacques Lemaire.

2.Alexander Semin- He can score goals with the best of them. But then he can go on a complete 2 week cold streak or an injury. He is very talented and is very quick. He had more goals than Ovechkin his teammate after the fist 20 games last year.

3.Martin Havlat- Had his first healthy year with the chicago last season. Now he is playing on the Wild. No Gaborik... At least there is new coaches that don't only care about defenese and traps. Still has some good years left if he can remain healthy. Havlat is still capable of putting up around 35 Goals.

4.Sheldon Souray- He has had 26 and 23 goals in his last 2 healthy seasons. But in the past injuries seemed to plague him. And his physical play does nothing to help. He is an all star d man that can hit, fight and score 20+. Not many can do that. He is well worth the risk.

5.Daniele Briere- Now into his 30's Daniel Briere is reverting back to his early phoenix days when he was always hurt. He had some healthy seasons on the Sabres. But has been nothing but hurt since going to the Flyers. When healthy he is a very good forward capable of getting 70+ points.

6.Cristobal Huet- He seems to lose his job wherever he goes. Uhh Hum he seems like a Martin Gerber with only way better stats and more injury prone. When he is hot he will help win you weeks. He seems to be more streaky then anything.

7.Pascal Leclaire- He had 9 shutouts in 07-08, which was one behind Lundqvist for the league lead. Doing this on a non-playoff Blue Jackets team. He only played in 12 games last year and was on IR for the whole season. He then was traded to the Senators at the trade deadline. He has a chance to rebound, and so does the Senators.

8.Tim Connolly- This faceoff winning playmaker seems to never stay off the injury report. It is ashame, we will never really know the skills and numbers he might of put up. He is only 27 so take a chance on him if nobody has him.


9.Kari Lehtonen- Still young, but the Thrashers have all offensife D-men. His stats were never good and I do not see them getting better on that team. A change of scenery like when Luongo went from the Panthers to the Canucks, can benefit Lehtonen and his numbers. Beware he just had back surgery.

10.Joni Pitkanen- had 40+ points back to back seasons. But injuries slowed his development down a little. He just turned 26 years old. Although I do not think he is capable of scoring at the pace he did when he had 13 goals in 58 games in 2005-2006. He is well worth having on a fantasy team and has good years left in that young body.

What in the Kessel's goin' on

What is going with Boston. Like what are they smoking on? This is the same team that traded a top player in Joe Thorton away for a bag of chips and a used tire. They opted to re sign David Krejci over Phil Kessel. The reason I say over him. Is because they know by signing Krejci they would not have enough money to re-sign Kessel unless they unloaded salary. If you are the Bruins, why in the hell would you do that?

You already have playmaker\assist guys in Marc Savard, Patrice Bergeron ad Krecji. Why would you let the only sniper on your team get away like that? Because the same teams do the same stupid things. This kid would of had 40 goals last year had he not missed any games. He is only 21 years old. He battled cancer at 18. And if you look at stats every year he has gotten better. With last year finally being the year where he showed where his potential might take him one day.

This kid has a chance to score 50 in a season within the next 7-8 years of his prime. I do not see anyone else on the Bruins even capable of getting 35. The only two on the team with the ability to score is off and on again Michael Ryder. Along with Milan Lucic which isn't saying much, considering he had 17 goals. But the potential is there. With that said the Bruins should of did everything they could of to keep their young goal scorer.

Now another team will sign him to an offer sheet or make a trade for him. And they will get to enjoy the glory years of Phil Kessels career. The Bruins have a cup contending team. But will never win it, because of the stupid decisions their upper managament makes. The three teams I hear most about getting him are the St. Louis Blues, Toronto MapleLeafs and the Nashville Predators. I think the Blues have the best chance of getting him. They have some good prospects to give up. If the blues were smart they would make an offer sheet. They know the bruins can't match. And why would they care about losing a 1st, 2nd and 3rd round pick. When they already stocked with prospects.

He would fit well with Andy McDonald feeding him the puck or even with David Perron. He would be so perfect along with the other youngster on the Blues growing up together. The Leafs and Preadtors need him more then the blues. THey have no offensive threat on their teams. And they should be willing to sacrifice the house to land him.

Fantasy Impact: Phil Kessel might be out till November recovering from off season surgery. If you are in a keeper league. You should have a good bench Forward to put in for a while. When Kessel returns no matter what team he is on. Look for him to be the main guy to put the puck in the net. Look for his stats to be similar to last seasons. Only because he will have a slow start when he first comes back. If Kessel did play in 82 games this year. I would of had him penciled in at 41 Goals and 70 points. 1 Year league advice is to not take him in the first 5 rounds. IF you can get him after that round it would be a steal. He might miss 12-16 games. People will avoid picking him because of that. Which will cause him to slip down and fall right into your lap.

Heatley finally traded to the Sharks

The San Jose Sharks made the big move that has been expected ever since their best regular season ended with a first-round playoff exit, acquiring disgruntled winger Dany Heatley from the Ottawa Senators on Saturday.

The Sharks gave up Milan Michalek, Jonathan Cheechoo and a second-round pick to acquire Heatley, who had been involved in a lingering dispute with the Senators because he felt he was not being properly used by the team.

"It was tough. It wasn't the greatest summer. No question," Heatley said in a conference call Saturday. "I'm relieved and excited to be going to San Jose."

Ottawa also sent San Jose a fifth-round draft pick. The long-rumored trade came on the opening day of training camp for Ottawa and ends a clash that has overshadowed the Senators in recent months.

"I talked to Dany yesterday and he was adamant that he wanted to be moved and we felt based on that, more than anything, that we should get the value that we could get for him and move on," Senators general manager Brian Murray said.

The 28-year-old Heatley signed a $45-million, six-year contract extension less than two years ago with the Senators. But he said he wanted out of Ottawa because he wasn't being used properly. He then angered fans when he refused to waive a no-trade clause to move to Edmonton.

MY OPINION: The sharks got a major steal. Getting rid of 3.5 MIL of a stiff in Cheechoo's contract. Michalek is an alright player, but has never proven to be a 1st liner. And he is also making around 3.5 MIL. So to trade them two with a 2nd rounder to get a two time 50-50 guy is a major rip off. I find it hard to believe that is all they could of gotten.

Canada's Olympic Roster Preview

With the Olympic Orientation Camp going on this week. There is alot of discussion over who is going to be stiffed of making the team? What half decent forward that is great defensively will make it over a player that has scoring or playmaking ability? Who will be the 3 goalies will make the team? What forwards will play out of postition? Should a defensive d-man like Robyn Regher make it over an offensive powerhouse like Mike Green? I highly doubt it but you never know. I seen stuff that leave you scratching your head the past 3 Olympic Rosters so this will be fun when they announce it in December.

Right now Canada and Russia are the strong Favorites for the 2010 Olympics in Vancouver. Don't under estimate USA, Sweden and Finland. Yes, they are not on the same level as Russia or Canada. But do not count any of them out. Nobody thought Czech Republic had a chance in 1998, but they won Gold. The best team on paper does not always win. The team with the hottest goalie and best chemistry going into the medal rounds win.

Now lets talk about this stacked roster...

You tell me how Marc Savard wasn't even invited to camp, but Shane Doan, Ryan Smyth, Dan Cleary and Patrick Sharp were? He has been one of the top 3 assist guys over the past 6 years. Is he that bad defensively? I personally do not see Spezza making the team. Because, there is guys like Morrow and Gagne that are good offensively but are good 2 way players which can be used on the PK. Plus Gagne was on the 2002 team that won Gold. And I can see an ALL Flyers line of Gagne, Richards and Carter. I do not see St. Louis making the team over a few of the other guys below. I don't think Lecavalier deserves to be on the team but will make it because of his name. He has only had 2 good years. And he is coming off a surgically repaired shoulder.

On to defenseman. I do not see these defensive defenseman making it. Dan Hamhuis, Robyn Regeher, Stephan Robidas, Marc Staal. You got offensive guys like Dan Boyle, Brent Burns, Francois Beachemin will not make it either because they are not as good all around as the guys making it. And Brent Seabrook and Drew Doughty are still young and unproven yet. But like I said things change during the year. Down below on my list all the defenseman are good both ways besides Mike Green. Phaneuf did not have a solid season defensively but every one has an off year.

And if ya ask me. Loungo should be the 3rd goalie. Cam Ward has proven how good he is in big games. 5 years younger he has accomplished more than Loungo, especially when it counts the most. He won the cup as a Rookie and won the Conn Smythe. Loungo has yet to get it done in the couple years he made it to the playoffs with the Canucks. Hopefully all 3 of them can get themselves into at least one game. I see Fleury and Steve Mason not making it. Even though Fleury is coming off a Stanley Cup win. He has been inconsistent throughout his career so far. And Steve Mason is just to young and needs to prove it a little more. These two will definitely be on the 2014 Canada Roster, you can bet your house on that one.

If I was running team Canada these would be the lines. That does not mean it is going to be the real roster.


1st Line:
Nash, Crosby, Iginla
2nd Line:
Heatley, Thorton, Getzlaf
3rd Line:
Gagne, Richards, Carter
4th Line:
Toews, Lecavalier, E. Staal
Extras
Morrow & Spezza

D-Men
Green, Niedermayer
Pronger, Phaneuf
Weber, Keith
7th man: Bouwmeester

Goalies
1. Brodeur
2. Ward
3. Luongo

Best Goalie Fights Of All Time

In recent years you hardly see any goalie fights. That is because you very rarely see a good old fashion line brawl. With every player on the ice going at it. Hockey has sure changed alot over time. I kind of miss goalies going at it. It was actually a thing of beauty to see it as it about to happen. The one goalie will come out towards the blue line to challenge the other goalie to come down. Or the goalie will get involved with a player and the other goalie has to charge down and get involved. Some goalies looked so awkward trying to fight with all them pads. And some can just dish out beatings.

Just thinking back from the 80's and 90's. You had Ron Hextall, Garth Snow, Ray Emery, Felix Potvin, Dan Cloutier who were tougher out of all the ones that fought. Even these goalies dropped their blocker and glove. Patrick Roy, Mike Vernon, Chris Osgood, Marty Biron, Sami Salo, Dominik Hasek, Tomas Vokoun, Miikka Kiprusoff, Sean Burke, Byron Dafoe, Glen Healey, Brian Hayward just to name some. The list goes on over them years.

Ron Hextall is a rare goalie not only who won a Vezina in his rookie year. But also scored multiple goals and fought multiple times throughout his career. I myself personally think that Hextall was the craziest goalie. But I don't know if he was the toughest. You always have to love a crazy or tough goalie who also is pretty good on top of it. If two goalies can fight today, I would like to see (Flyers) Ray Emery vs Ben Bishop (Blues). Ben Bishop is the 3rd goalie on the blues now. He is the tallest goalie to ever play in a game. He is a monster at 6'7 and he is only 23. He will get his chance to play eventually. The blues have two old goalies. Maybe we will see this one day after all...


Please watch videos below before voting!!!

What is the best goalie fight ever?
	Hextall vs Potvin
	Roy vs Osgood
	Cloutier vs Salo
	Vernon vs Roy
	Snow vs Shields
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Ron Hextall vs Felix Potvin


Patrick Roy vs Chris Osgood


Dan Cloutier vs Sami Salo


Patrick Roy vs Mike Vernon


Garth Snow vs Steve Shields

Top 10 Good Players + PIMS

Here is a list for all you Fantasy Owners out there. Now I know all leagues do not have Penalty Minutes (PIMS). Most that do have PIMS has it as a positive thing. There are leagues out there that count that as a negative which is also kewl in a way. To each his own. I enjoy PIM's because it gives owners a chance to grab players they might not normally have. A player that is borderline that gets PIMS might become all that more an attractive signing if you are struggling in that category each week. A great player that fights and gets PIMS has even more value. Here is a great example of what I mean from a back in the day standpoint. There was a year when Bob Probert had these stats:


Now tell me you wouldn't of loved to have him on your fantasy team that year. That would of been a comparable year to what Hossa just had all around. And he is a superstar. Damn, Probert even had 15 Power Plays goals to top it off with that monster year.

This a list of players that are good that PIMS help their value. None of these players are superstars yet.

1.  Cory Perry
2.  Scott Hartnell
3.  David Backes
4.  Dustin Brown
5.  Alex Burrows
6.  Milan Lucic
7.  Steve Ott
8.  Brandon Dubinsky
9.  Ryan Malone
10. Sean Avery

Brodeur The Ageless Wonder

Martin Brodeur is 37 years old, and is still at the top of his game. Yes he suffered his first major injury of his career last season. But that does not mean he is going to start going down hill from here. Marty, probably has 3 good years left in the tank if he has the desire and passion. Hasek was in his 40's and still posting great numbers. So don't expect Brodeur to slow down now either.

Defensive Mastermind Coach Jacques Lemaire is back again to coach his former team. I expect guys like Parise, Zajac, Elias and Langebrunner's stats to drop off a little bit. On the other hand I expect to see Broduer's GAA and SV% to improve a little from last years. As the team will be focusing more on the defensive end.

I can see Brodeur getting about 37 wins this year on a Devils team teetering around the 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th spot all year. If their coach would let their offensive stars do their thing. Then I can easily see the Devils making the playoffs, winning more games and Brodeur can easily get 40 Wins. Like I said already I see his stats improving, not that they were bad last year in the games he played in. Over his career he plays in about 90% of the teams games or more. Even as he has gotten older that hasn't changed one bit. Whether he has had Stevens, Niedermayer, Daneyko, White, Oduya, or Paul Martin in front of him. It is still the same ole' Martin Brodeur between the pipes.

He is the best goalie I have ever seen over so many years straight in a row with the same team, which hardly ever happens anymore. He never cared about money or being the highest paid goalie. When he is done he will virtually have almost every record for a goalie's career. I am glad to say I watched him play his career out from when I was 12. And I actually understood how great he was while he was still playing. Nobody will break his records. Goalies just do not play in that many games a season anymore.

For fantasy owners out there. If you are drafting in a one year league. I see Brodeur going in the the top 3 of goalies. If you are drafting a keeper league. I would take him 3-7 range out of all goalies taken. You will get a few good years and you can even trade him after the 1st year. For owners in franchise leagues that have Brodeur. I strongly suggest debating on whether to keep him or get something really good for him while his value still holds strong. Most people would pay out their @$$ to get a dominate goalie like that.

The Kings Playoff Chances

For years now the Kings have been rebuilding and stocking up on top propsects. Will this finally be the year the Kings take that next step and make the playoffs again. They have not appeared in the playoffs since 2001-2002 when they lost to the Colorado Avalanche.

This will be Terry Murray's 2nd year as coach. They have some very good young talent on the team. Along with a hell of alot more Propsects to come out. They have Frolov, Kopitar, Brown, Smyth, Handzus, Stoll and Justin Williams. To go along with youngsters like Wayne Simmonds, Teddy Prucell, Oscar Moller, and Brayden Schenn who they drafted 5th overall this year. Frolov is now 27 and needs to take his game to the next level. He seems to never improve. Koptiar only had 66 points last year. But in 47% of the games he played in he did not have a point. He needs to become a more consistent player as he matures. He does have a chance to be a real star one day.

Their defense consists of emerging superstar Drew Doughty who had a decent rookie year as D man in the NHL. 22 Y.O Jack Johnson (3rd overall in 2005) who has lot of unlocked potential. They brought a very good stay at home guy through free agency in Rob Scuderi (Pittsburg). They have veteran O'Donnell who is probably playing his last year. Along with Matt Greene who is tough and good defensively. Other spots can possibly be filled by either Great D-Man Prospects. Such as Thomas Hickey, Colton Teubert and Vyacheslav Voinov if he comes over. These few players will be battling with these rookies for a spot on the team. Raitis Ivanans who is a tough guy\fighter. Denis Gauthier who has been back and forth in the minors.

Their Goalie situation looks very solid. Jonathan Quick had a very good year for being on a poor team. The 23 year old only played in 44 Games. And somehow managed to post 21 wins on that team in half a season. His stats were 2.48GAA with a .914 SV% along with 4 Shutouts. They also have 27 year old Swedish, Erik Ersberg. He has been solid and put up decent numbers in his 42 career NHL games over 2 season. And don't forget about prospect Jonathan Bernier. Who was a 11th overall pick for the Kings in 2006. His name has fizzled off lately. But he will have his chance to take over this year if someone falters. The only question is if he can keep the job once he ever does win it.

Their team has a very good core, but not any superstars. They traded Cammalleri away last year which was a bad move. Because he was going to be a free agent and they didn't want to pay him. Yet they will trade for a guy like Ryan Smyth who is making 6.5 MIL! Does that make sense? They traded a young O'Sullivan for an older injury prone Justin Williams. That was a move I really questioned when it happened. They also overpaid for Anze Kopitar. He will be making 6.0 Million this year. And to me he just hasn't shown he was worth that contract yet.

I once again do not see them making playoffs. I see them finishing 10th in the West. Until they can land that big time scorer or power play specialist. I do not see it happening. They should have been more active in Free Agency. I think Afinogenov or Zherdev would be a perfect fit for that team. And they are both still available. According to NHL Numbers they have 8.5 MIL of CAP space. But will they use it to improve?

Can Havlat succeed in Minnesota?

Last year on a team with young superstars. The team leader in points with 77 Points was Martin Havlat. Are you shocked it wasn't Jonathan Toews or Patrick Kane? I am actually shocked that he had his first full season. He played in 81 games that is amazing for him. Mhmmm, remember Eric Lindros had that one healthy season with the Rangers where he played in 81. That was just an illusion.

What I am trying to say is that don't expect Havlat to play the whole season every year. He might play in 70 Games I will give him that. But he is now 28 and the older you get especially for an injury prone player. The more you break down. I am not hating on him. Just saying, if you are in a keeper league. Do not over pay for him. Trade for someone not as good offensively but at least they do not miss games. Or even for multiple draft picks. If this is a new draft. I see him going around 40th out of all forwards just because of his past history.

With all that said if he can get some chemistry with Mikko Koivu and Pierre Marc Bouchard. He can have a very productive season. Especially if he plays in 70 games. They have a new coach. No more of the defensive minded Jacques Lemaire. So I can see guys like Koivu and Bouchard finally being able to show their true talent.

Martin Havlat's best season was while he was on the Senators. It was 2003-04 where its the first time he averaged a point a game. 68 Points in 68 Games. And the only time he was over 30 goals when he finished with 31 Goals. I expect to see him hit that 30+ goal plateau again. Especially as he will be the go to guy on the Wild. He was never a main guy always a sidekick. Now is his chance to shine and also prove that he can put together a couple of healthy seasons.

Like I said before I would not trade the house to land him on my Fantasy Team. Nor would I pick him over a forward just as good that is always healthy. If you get him in a later round in your fantasy draft and he pans out you will look like a genius. He does have a very good chance to succeed on his new team, especially since he will be getting alot of playing time. To all those owners who have him or wind up picking him. Lets keep our fingers crossed XXXXX

Is Turco still a top Fantasy Goalie?

Alot of people are down on Turco after a bad year. He finally proved he was not a choke artist in the playoffs 2 and 3 years ago. But now people are questioning whether where to pick Turco in Fantasy Leagues (Single Season and Keeper). If this is a keeper league I would pick him around 18-28th goalie picked. If this is a one year league I would take him around 12-18th out of all goalies available. The reason being he will be 34 the middle of this August. But if he is available he is a steal. He is not real old yet for a goalie. He probably has a few good years left in him. The whole Dallas Stars team in general had a bad year.

This was the first bad season of Turco's career. And 33 wins on a non playoff team isn't that horrible. It was only the 2nd time in his career that he had a GAA over 2.50. It was actually 2.81 this past season. And it was also the 2nd time his Save Percentage was below 90.9%. It was at 89.8% this past year. So all and all to me it seems that Turco was just a resemblance of his team. His other semi good season was in 2005-06 when the Stars also did not have a great record.

I do not expect the Stars to be great like they were at one time. But I do expect them to have a better year as the younger guys mature and the older guys like Modano and Lehtinen get weened out. I think Turco's number will be a little bit better next year. I predict a 36 Wins, 2.53 GAA and 91.2% with 3 Shutouts as my prediction.

If your in a Keeper League and you want Turco get him now while you can. His trade value is at an all time low. A good goalie is hard to acquire so get him now while he is Low. If the season starts and he plays good, his value is going to go up or the GM who has him might not want to part with him anymore. You have to take Risks to win leagues. This seems like a nice gamble if the price is reasonable to obtain a Goalie that will start in 66-70 Games. Remember alot of players have off years even the greats. Hopefully with Turco it will not become a habit. So to answer the question in the title. While he is not a Top Fantasy Goalie anymore. He is a very solid one and very reliable when the Stars are playing good hockey in front of him.